Sinking Hearts
by Anxiouspillow
Summary: When Feliciano Vargas and his siblings set out in search of a better life, the Titanic is their golden ticket. The ship it’s self is amazing and life aboard couldn’t get any better. Or could it? What happens when Feliciano meets a handsome German immigrant named Ludwig? And what kind of fait will befall these star crossed lovers, on the beautiful ship of dreams. Aph Titanic au!


Green grass rustled restlessly on the cool ground, flourishing under the warmth of the sun's glowing rays; a seemingly endless field of flowers blooming in droves. The sky's cheerful blue shone bright and proud, dotted colourfully with every colour from pastel blue to a feathery white. This spring day, at near high noon, was very eventful at most. In this gorgeous setting crowds of, cheerful people awaited near the base of the grand, new Royal Mail Ship Liner: the RMS Titanic. This ship looked to be promising setting for a star crossed lovers hideaway. And many a young souls awakening and demise.

Cherbourg, France: April 10th, 1912

Hundreds of people crowded into the small port, all originating from all from many countries across the continent. Each was there to board the ship of dreams or so she was called; a wholesome pocket of hope ahead. This ship was the light of many lives for those whose fortune was less than fulfilling; a new start, a bright future. Colourful barrages of people walked about the harbour all off to one place or the other. Excitement buzzed through the air as family after family passed the health examinations, and dogs of all sizes proudly pranced next to their owners. A young girl and her brothers ran clumsily through the large crowd. All four yelling in both playful and aggressive tones.

"Hurry up Feliciano! We haven't got the damn time for you to be dawdling!" Yelled the second shortest - a brunette - to his overjoyed twin brother as he struggled to keep up with the others. In the arms of the girl was a young boy aged around five years, he had short and messy, rust brown hair and shimmering green eyes, the sun only enhanced their shen. He giggled enthusiastically at his big brothers dismay. And much like a five year old would, he squirmed relentlessly in his sisters arms. Her teal blue eyes rested strainingly on his own, tired out by the endless struggle known as her baby fratello.

"Sebastian," Isabella sighed.

"Please stop moving...you're making it quite difficult for me to carry you!"

"Feliciano?! Lovino?! Could one of you hold Sebastian for a little while, please? He's being extremely difficult…" the girl sighed softly. Sebastian was her responsibility to care for after their Grandfather had died. He was only two at the time and she was thirteen; she was now barely seventeen and already had to care for a child. Where her and her brothers were from that was commonplace, girls as young as sixteen were being married off to members of the Italian Mafia. But regardless of her pleas her brothers continued forward; a sigh escaped her lips. This next week would truly be interesting.

Lovino ran up to the catwalk that lead out onto the 3rd class passengers decks, passed the Boarding staff his families boarding passes and on he went, the others following closely behind. Feliciano of course was the last onto the ship, clumsily stumbling about the halls in a tired bundle. Isabella - being nearly fluent in English ( amongst German, Italian, Latin and French) - guided the group down the winding fresh halls to their small shared room; the scent of paint was pungent and fresh and the substance itself sparkled against the wooden walls and ceiling. Feliciano had gotten distracted by a small dog and it's furry friends, leaving him strikingly unaware that he was now alone and lost. As soon as he realized this he jumped and instantly jogged of in the direction that his siblings had gone.

"Bella? Lovi? Tino? Where are you all?! Wait for m-" he collided into a hard and broad chest. Closings his eyes hard, he braced himself for impact. However, a pair of strong arms caught him as he began his short decent to the wooden floor below. Feli's eyes opened quickly as soon he began to realize that he would not, in fact, hit the floor. Landing first on a suspender strap, and a soft plaid flannel; then sparkling blue eyes and a handsome young face with a sharp jawline. His eyes were filled with concern as he looked down at the boy in his arms.

"Are you alright?" The man said in a deep, smooth voice. Feliciano blushed softly, then quickly pushed himself away from the man. The man's eyes widened in shock, his brows furrowed and his head tilted slightly to the side.

"I am so sorry, I had no idea that you were there- no! I wasn't looking and I got lost? I-I I'm so sorry…" The young Italian frantically apologized. The blonde man straightened himself and rose a hand to his hair, smoothing it back and allowing a soft sigh to escape his lips; he closed his eyes but allowed his head to remain tilted. While Feliciano waited for a response he decided to get a better look at the poor man. He was very tall, about six feet, and had a muscular build with broad shoulders. His face was hard and somewhat unforgiving, thick knitted eyebrows, thin pursed lips, and a perfectly chiseled jawline. He had a pale complection and of course blonde, bone-straight hair that rested neatly on his head.

"It's fine. Just watch where you are going next time." Feliciano looked back into his eyes and nodded quickly before shakilly holding his hand out in front of him. The blond man took his hand a shook it firmly.

"My name is Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt." Feli smiled.

"Feliciano Vargas. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ludwig nodded in reply.

"Feli! How many times do I have to tell you not to run off on your own??!" Yelled an angered brunette. Feli's head snapped over in his direction, then with a quick wave he bid farewell to a very confused Ludwig. He ran over to Lovino smiling nervously, a tired looking Isabella stood wearily behind him. Lovino narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously before releasing a long, laboured sigh; his hand migrated to the bridge of his nose. Then through clenched teeth he spoke.

"Let's go, Feli." A tense silence filled the air for a moment until a cheeky giggle arose in the air. Feliciano glanced over at Sebastian who had a smug grin on his chubby cheeks. Isabella gasped and reprimanded him quickly.

"Sebastian! No! You do not laugh when someone gets in trouble." Sebastian burst out laughing at this point, easily pissing off Lovino even more. Lovino glared at Isabella and the boy, before swiftly turning around and walking away. Isabella sighed and followed after him; Feli spared one last glance behind him. Ludwig was no longer there but instead in his place was a chaotic stream of passengers, all destined for the same place. "Perhaps I'll see him again…" he thought as he walked away with his siblings.

The cabin they had was on F Deck nearer to the stern of the ship. It was a small room with two sets of bunk beds and a plumbed-in washbasin. The bed frames were made of some sort of unstained wood, and the mattresses appeared to be filled with straw; The salmon pink tiled-floors were slightly dusty, and the beds were unmade but none of them cared enough to complain. To the sides of the door were small metal shelves stacked with white blankets, and ten spongy-looking white life jackets; all were too large to fit a child. The inner walls of the cabin, where the bunk beds were, were painted a fresh white. And above the washbasin was a large porthole that gave a chiling view of the French waters. Isabella put Sebastian down and happily laid onto one of the lower bunks, a sigh left her lips. Sebastian squealed with joy when he caught sight of a boat outside of the rooms porthole. His tiny feet scrambled over to the porthole, a wide smile on his chubby cheeks.

"Fratello! Fratello! Look! Look at the boats!" He pointed a chubby finger towards the porthole. Lovi smiled at the boy and asked earnestly,

"Who wants to see the upper decks before it's too late? Bastien? Bella? Feliciano?"

"I want to go!" Sebastian yelled giddily; Isabella grumbled something under her breath rhetorically. Feli smiled sympathetically at his sister, she was absolutely exhausted and he new that she wouldn't be leaving. Isabella rolled her head slowly to the side and locked eyes with Lovino, her eyelids weighed down by her utter exhaustion. She rose a hand and passively waved it to the away from herself. A subtle no. Sebastian was impatiently looking at Feliciano and Isabella at this point.

"I'll go. I'm sure Isabella could use some rest." A smile creeped its way onto her lips and she sat herself up slowly. After pushing herself off of the bed and swiftly walking a few short steps, she cupped her hands gently over her brothers cheeks and placed a quick kiss on his forehead.

"Graize." She spoke gratefully, lowering her soft hands from his face; yes lingering with his. The calmness in the air of the room was disturbed by what they assumed was cheering, the ship was leaving the port. This wasn't the first time that the Titanic had left harbour, but for the Vargas family and many others, this was the begging of a glorious new journey. A loud humming noise also roared its way into their room. The engine. It was located just a waltz away from their cabin, so of course the noise was going to be a very unwelcome accommodation. Sebastian jumped when the noise arouse, but soon erupted into a mess of giggles when his oldest sibling pursed his lips and subconsciously balled his fists. When he had heard about the Third Class' conditions he knew that there would be some mice on the ship, and he knew that the rooms would be small. But he'd never imagined that their cabin would be situated so closely to the Engine Room. A loud sigh left his lips and he walked towards the door.

"Sebastian, Feliciano, are we leaving? The sooner we get to the deck the better, the ship should be leaving any minute now." Lovino spoke sparingly, his eyes locked with the doorknob.

"Si!" Sebastian cried racing towards the door. Lovino scooped him up into his arms and then bid his sister farewell with a small wave. Sebastian yelled a short goodbye to his sibling, and Feli waved a quick goodbye before walking out the door and closing it behind him.

The hallway was emptier now, quiet almost, if not for the low hum of the engine. Now Feli could get a better look at it. The paint was a glowing white and it smelled as fresh as morning dew, small plants adorned the hall every now and then, and the brown machine-woven carpet was absolutely spotless. The brown wooden floors were very clean and seemed rough in texture, they hadn't yet been waxed. No strips of wallpaper bordered the walls, and the decorations were far and few. As they neared the stairs Feliciano couldn't help but look over to the spot where he had last seen Ludwig, in his place was a small weak looking tree that sat unhappily at the base of the stairs. The stairway itself was not the most appealing thing, either. It was made of some sort of industrial metal painted with white paint, the steps were supported by smaller iron bars formed into small triangles; the stairs were a tripping hazard indeed because there was nothing aside from those triangles connecting the steps together, almost like a slanted metal ladder. The rails were also made of metal but were not painted over. At the base and the top of the stairs was a large black, wrought-iron gate that was probably the fanciest thing on F Deck so far. Lovino scaled the stairs with caution, so as not to trip and fall with Sebastian in his arms. After walking past the gates connecting E Deck to D Deck Lovi let out a small scoff catching his younger brother attention.

"It's almost as if they want us to feel like we're in a prison, is it not? Industrial type stairs gated on both sides with barred fences, and don't even get me started about the narrow hallways and shared rooms. If it wasn't for the fact that Isabella isn't married yet, we'd be stuck sleeping with strangers! And we already have such a small amount of space to ourselves. Besides, could you imagine what would happen if-" Lovi paused, briskly glancing down at his little brother who starred curiously up at him. His green eyes glimmering in the light of the electrical lamps, filled with wonder, excitement, and a hint of fear.

"I-if Isabella was married! She'd be so busy taking care of her own family, she wouldn't be able to babysit you when Feli and I would have something to do." He gested. The boy seemed to be satisfied by his answer and left it at that, Lovino glanced at Feli who knew exactly what he was talking about. What if something was to happen to the ship? What would happen to its lower class passengers.

"Fratello? When are we going to get to the top of the ship?" He asked innocently, his fingers were curled around his brother's rosary. Orange wavy hair fell softly over his pudgy face, and green eyes focused on the brown wooden beads in his hands. Lovino smiled sweetly at him.

"In a few minutes, Sebastian. We're not that far away, see look," Lovi pointed at a small crowd of people who had gathered on D-deck.

"Look at all of the children that you will have to play with! Aren't you excited? I'm sure Bella wouldn't mind watching you play." Sebastian stared at the other kids eagerly. He was desperate to play with someone his age, especially if they had toys with them. And it seemed as much; one boy held a hoop and a stick, a girl clutched a skipping rope, some other children played with marbles and jacks, and one spun a spinning top. He was definitely excited about this trip now.

Feliciano discreetly searched the crowd for that tall blond man again. He didn't know why he wanted so badly to see this man, he just did. Perhaps he was interested in his heritage? Whatever it was it was beginning to bother him a little. After another minute or so of walking the duo finally made it up to the viewing deck, or the first class deck as it was commonly referred by. Sebastian was squirmed uncontrollably at this point. He was eager to see the ship off as well as wave to members of the crowd that he would never get to know. Lovino hesitantly put the boy down, watching his every move carefully.

"Fratello look!" He beamed, a chubby fist tightly holding his brothers hand and another pointing at a small boat. "It's a baby boat! I wonder why it's so close to this big one." Lovi looked down at the small boat. It was probably there to get the Titanic out of harbour and out to sea, least that's what he figured. "It's probably there to help pull the Titanic out to sea." "C'est un remorqueur." Commented a small shy sounding voice. A boy no older than Sebastian stood beside Feliciano. He was dressed in a beige Knickerbocker suit that had two pockets, a waist belt, and three buttons. As well as a pair of matching beige shorts tucked into a pair of black socks, and black leather shoes. His pale violet eyes looked up shyly at Feli and Lovi after realizing he'd gotten their attention. "Je suis déso-" "Mathieu? Pourquoi a tu par ici?." Said a tall, well dressed man. He wore a striking navy blue sack suit that was double breasted, and was done up with three black buttons. Underneath the jacket was a light blue dress shirt, a navy blue vest, and a navy tie. His trousers matched the rest of the suit and nicely fit his slim form. They were not cuffed, and his shoes were black leather dress shoes. In his breast pocket was a folded red handkerchief. The man had a clean shaven face, curly shoulder-length blond hair, and stunning blue eyes. "I am sorry about him. He is just curious, you know?" The man spoke with a thick French accent. Lovino tilted his head to the side in confusion and Feliciano just smiled. "Of course! I don't mind at all." He responded. The frenchmen nodded and smiled happily at his son. Mathieu and Sebastian we're trying to talk to each other. It didn't work very well, but Bastien was determined to speak to the boy. "My name, um…is Sebastian! Your name is?" "Mathieu." The boy replied. "It's nice to meet you Sebastian." Sebastian tilted his head I confusing and responded with "Si. It is nice to meet you? Uh...Too!" He responded sheepishly. His English wasn't the best but he was still trying. "Friend?" Sebastian said eagerly to Mathieu who smiled wider in response. "O-okay, that sounds like a good idea."

The men had finished talking and the ship had just left port. Loud bells began to sound signifying the beginning for lunch. "Viens chez-moi Mathieu. C'est temp pour déjeuner." The boy nodded and said goodbye to Sebastian who all the while didn't understand why there were bells. "Is it time for church?" He asked. Feliciano looked at him and said "No, it's lunchtime." Sebastian turned abruptly towards Mathieu, effectively startling him, and cheerfully yelled. "Let's sit together." Lovino put a hand on Sebastian's shoulder and explained that Mathieu was in a different class, they couldn't sit together. "I suggest that we go and get ready now. Isabella would probably like some time to get ready." Feliciano explained.

"Well then, I do hope to see you all again. Perhaps you can bring the little one up to A deck to play with Mathieu? They do seem to get along quite well, and my poor boy is quite the timid one. It's nice to see him get along with another young boy." The french man explained. Nodding Feliciano seemed to remember something.

"Oh! We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Feliciano Vargas, this is my brother Lovino, and of course you already know Sebastian." Feli smiled. "And you are?" "Francis Bonnefoy. It's been a pleasure to speak with you Feliciano. And you as well Sebastian."Mathieu grabbed his father's hand contently and waved goodbye to Sebastian and the others. "Goodbye, enjoy your lunch!" Francis said and after receiving a goodbye from his acquaintances he made his leave.

Mini dictionary thing

Fratello: Brother

Sorella: Sister

Grazie: Thank you

Si: Yes

C'est un remorqueur: It's a tugboat

Je suis désolé: I'm sorry

Viens chez-moi Mathieu, c'est temp pour déjeuner: Come with me Mathieu, it's time for lunch.

Au revoir: Goodbye


End file.
